LibertyBus sold to Australian company

Thursday 15 September 2022

LibertyBus and its Guernsey equivalent have been sold to a part of Australia’s largest transport provider.

HCT Group – parent of LibertyBus and CT Plus – announced the acquisition by Tower Transit, which forms part of Kelsian Group, this morning.

As well as Australia, Kelsian operates in Singapore and London. In the English capital, it employs around 4,000 people and operates 1,250 buses, including 300 electric vehicles.

Kevin Hart, Director of HCT’s Channel Islands businesses said the bus service was “confident that the transition will occur without any disruption to services”.

He also said the aim was to “maintain the existing teams in place with their extensive local experience and track record of success”, and also said there are “no plans to change routes or tickets or branding.”

It comes following a challenging period for LibertyBus in Jersey. During the height of the pandemic, it required an emergency bailout from Government to be able to keep running.

More recently, staff shortages recently forced the company to reduce its frequency of services. The business had also been struggling to find ‘Jersey-compatible’ zero-emission  buses.

HCT CEO Lynn McClelland said LibertyBus and CT Plus “could not be in better hands”.

“Tower Transit and Kelsian are noted for their high-quality services, their international reach and resources and their extensive experience with electrification of bus services and other sustainable technologies, currently high on everybody’s agenda,” she continued.   

“It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve the people of both Jersey and Guernsey for the past ten years. We are grateful to the Government of Jersey and States of Guernsey for the spirit of partnership that has characterised our work together. We are certain that we leave behind a strong foundation for the future development of the bus service.”

Samuel Ribeiro, Managing Director of Tower Transit, added: “The Group are delighted to take over the reins of both LibertyBus in Jersey and CT Plus in Guernsey and thank HCT Group for their commitment to the Channel Islands over the years and their positive collaboration with the Government of Jersey and States of Guernsey.

“Our aim is to maintain a business-as-usual approach whilst drawing on the experience and capabilities of the Group in the future.  We proudly serve several Island communities in Australia and look forward to extending this high-quality service to the people of Jersey and Guernsey.”

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